John Stones scored deep in injury time as Manchester City salvaged a 2-2 draw with 10-man Arsenal on Sunday to remain top of the English Premier League table after a rip-roaring battle against their bitter title rivals.
The draw in what was more of a slugfest than a chess match left Pep Guardiola’s men with 13 points after five matches, while Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who played the entire second half with 10 men following Leandro Trossard’s red card, are fourth with 11.
Arsenal looked poised for their first win at the Etihad Stadium since 2015 before substitute Stones prodded in from close range in the 98th minute — with their 28th shot of the second half. It was the joint highest ever shots by a side on record (from 2003-2004) in a single half in the Premier League.
Photo: Reuters
“I think over the years, we’ve learned as a team to stick together, no matter who’s playing, and to always be ready,” Stones said. “I know the manager emphasizes that. I’m sure you’ve heard before... I tried to go on there, get in the right areas, and it fell for me luckily. And you know, I’m really pleased to score a goal like that.”
Erling Haaland had put City ahead in the ninth minute when Savinho threaded a beautiful through ball that the big Norwegian sprinted onto then slotted past David Raya. It was Haaland’s 10th league goal of the season and 100th for the club across all competitions, and he celebrated by grabbing a City scarf and waving it aloft.
The joy was short-lived. Ricardo Calafiori canceled out Haaland’s goal with his first for Arsenal, a screamer from about 20m out in the 22nd minute. Arsenal had caught City unprepared with a free kick in the lead-up, leaving Guardiola furiously karate kicking his chair.
Photo: Reuters
Gabriel then put the visitors ahead in first-half injury time when he darted in to leap high and head home Bukayo Saka’s corner.
Arsenal were reduced to 10 men when Trossard was shown a second yellow and sent off just before halftime for kicking the ball away and delaying the restart.
Arsenal’s Declan Rice was sent off for the same reason three weeks ago, and it proved costly as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Brighton, the first points the team dropped this season.
The Gunners were parked in their own half after the break, allowing City to pepper them with shots and until the 98th minute, it worked.
They thwarted numerous near misses, including a leaping header by Haaland that keeper Raya scooped away. Bernardo Silva was there for the rebound, but fired it over the crossbar.
Raya made an outstanding save minutes before the final whistle, diving to push away a great effort by Josko Gvardiol.
One big negative on the night was City’s loss of Rodri to injury midway through the first half. Already missing captain Kevin De Bruyne due to injury, Rodri appeared to jam his right knee in the 21st minute and limped off the pitch after receiving treatment.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Francesco Bagnaia yesterday profited from a mistake by rookie Pedro Acosta to win the Japan MotoGP sprint and close the gap on overall championship leader, Jorge Martin. Spaniard Acosta crashed with four laps to go while leading the field at Motegi, allowing defending world champion Bagnaia to take first ahead of Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez. Spain’s Martin finished fourth and saw his overall lead over Italian Bagnaia in the championship standings cut to 15 points. “I am very happy because with these conditions, it’s not very easy to win and gain points,” Bagnaia said after a sprint race that took place under
Naomi Osaka is braced for a “battle” after yesterday setting up a clash with Coco Gauff in the round-of-16 of the China Open, while top seed Aryna Sabalenka also marched on. Osaka defeated 60th-ranked American Katie Volynets 6-3, 6-2 and next faces Gauff in a showdown of former US Open champions in Beijing. World No. 2 Sabalenka swatted aside Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-2 for her 14th consecutive victory and plays another American in 24th-ranked Madison Keys. Looking ahead to the Gauff meeting, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka said: “She’s very athletic, obviously.” “For me, my strongest traits are being aggressive and also my serve,
RSS